Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-02-28
On to san Francisco.

An important railway rumor comes
from San Luis Obispo. The rumor is
Important TO the whele coast generally,
but it is especially important to the
Southern Pacific Company, for il An.
nouDces in language not to be mistake
that there will soon be competing com.
psnies operating over their own tracks
all the way from San Diego to San Fran.
CISCO
The important rumor will be found in
six line item published elsewhere.
stating that the Pacific Coast Railroad
has been sold to the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Company. Should this report
prove true, the object of the purchase
will be very plain TO see. The Pacific
Coast Railroad is to be used as a link
in the Santa Fe's line, when con.
structed through 10 San Francisco.
Although it has always been the
commonly accepted opinion that the
Santa Fe Company intended to extend
its system to San Francisco, SO far as we
are aware this is the first positive move
in that direction since the Atlantic and
Pacific was completed to Mojave. No
one. however. has supposed that the
Santa Fe people would long allow their
system to end at Mojave. The only
question has been as to when the line
through would be constructed.
The plan will now undoubtedly be to
build the line from Los Angeles north to
Santa Barbara, thence to Los Alamos
and San Luis Obispo over the Pacific
Coast line now reported to have been
purchased, and thence north along the
coast and up the Santa Clara valley to
Oakland and San Francisco. The Pacific
Coast Railroad, be it understood, is from
sixty to seventy miles long, and runs
from Port Harford to San Luis Obispo
and thence to Los AIamos.
With the Southern Pacific line extend.
ed south from Los Angeles and Santa
Ana to San Diego, and the Santa Fe ex.
tended north to San Francisco, we shall
then have competitive lires all the way
from this city to San Francisco.
The beneficial results OF such an
arrangement will of course be very
great. In fact, they will be little
less than the results which accom-.
panied the construction of the irst rail.
way line to this city, a little over year
ago. San Diego is even now undoubted.
" getting good service from the Santa
Fe lines, but the advantages Of increased
rail competition may be easily seen, to
say nothing of the new country and the
new sources of supply and demand that
will necessarily be opened up to our
merchants.
1t is undoubtedly true that for years,
if not forever, San Francisco will con.
Time TO be the New York of the Pacific
Coast. 1t has the prestige, and prestige
these days is considerable. The Bostons
and Phiiadelphias and Baltimores of the
the Pacific remain to be developed. but
San Francisco is now and long will be
the New York of this coast.
1t will be the great wholesale
headquarters from which the
smaller cities must draw the larger
portion OF their supplies. This fact can.
not be disturbed by any manner of rea-
soning. The Importance then of being
in the direct line OF rail communication
with this wholesale headquarters is ap-
parent. OF course we now have q direct
line OF communication and form of
competition in our water way.
This fact is not to be for
gotten nor underestimated. But the
water way must always be slow way
compared with direct line OF railway.
The water way will answer for class Of
goods. and very large class, too, but for
another large class expedition is neces.
sary. The distance from San Francisco
10 San Diego by rail. when the new lines
are completed, will be in the neighbor.
hood of five hundred miles; and train
running at the average rate of thirty
miles an hour, which Is rather ordinary
time on eastern roads, and will soon be
common time here, would make the trip
in little over sixteen hours. We have
a great deal to be developed in this coun.
try, but the developments are being made
about as fast as the people are able TO
keep up with them. Il san Diegan.